Mayors of Democratic cities respond to Trump's threats they could be next after D.C. [View all]

Source: NPR

August 14, 2025 10:37 AM ET


When President Trump announced his plans to mobilize Washington, D.C.'s National Guard and take control of the city's local police force, he suggested that other liberal-leaning cities could be next.

"You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is," Trump said Monday. "We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don't even mention that anymore — they're so far gone. … We're not going to lose our cities over this, and this will go further."

The mayors of those cities — all of whom are Black and Democrats — have pushed back against Trump in recent days, pointing to data that shows crime is down in their communities. "I think it's very notable that each and every one of the cities called out by the president has a Black mayor, and most of those cities are seeing historic lows in violent crime," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN. "The president could learn from us instead of throwing things at us."

Oakland, Calif., Mayor Barbara Lee and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have declared they will not allow federal law enforcement to take over their cities. "We're not going to allow a military occupation of the city," Lee told ABC7. "This is part of [Trump's] effort to dismantle democracy, to militarize cities where people live, which he does not recognize, understand or see."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/14/nx-s1-5501273/trump-dc-takeover-cities-mayors-police-national-guard